Timeline

This timeline needs to be reviewed and corrected, as it has been automatically generated from multiple web sources. Please help improve it by adding dated informations, images and videos about Renault.

1899

The Renault corporation was founded in 1899 as "'Société Renault Frères"' by Louis Renault and his brothers Marcel and Fernand

1902

Marcel Renault won the 1902 Rallye Paris-Vienna, but lost his life while competing in the 1903 Paris-Madrid

1903

Both Louis and Marcel Renault raced company vehicles, but Marcel was killed in an accident during the 1903 Paris-Madrid race

Louis Delage - There, he was employed in the engineering and design department of a motor vehicle manufacturing concern until 1903 when he received an offer to join the fledgling Renault automobile company

1905

In 1905 the company introduced mass-production techniques, and Taylorism in 1913

The first car with Renault's optional bodywork was the "Taxi de la Marne" introduced in 1905

Louis was to take full control of the company as the only remaining brother in 1906 when Fernand retired for health reasons

1918

Louis Renault enlarged the scope of his company after 1918, producing agricultural and industrial machinery

1920

In 1920, he signed one of its first distribution contracts with Gustave Gueudet, an entrepreneur from northern France

This continued through the 1920s and it was not until 1930 that all models had the radiator at the front

Gueudet - In any event, Gustave Gueudet and Louis Renault sign their first distribution contract in 1920

1925

The Renault diamond logo has been through many iterations since it first was used in 1925

The bonnet badge changed from circular to the familiar and continuing diamond shape in 1925

1927

For example a "1927" model was mostly produced in 1928

The 1927 six-cylinder Grand Renault models NM, PI and PZ introduced the new three spring rear suspension that considerably aided road holding that was needed as with some body styles over was possible

The newly introduced 1927 Vivasix, model PG1, was sold as the "executive sports" model

1928

Exports to the USA by 1928 had almost reduced to zero from their high point prior to WW1 when to ship back a Grand Renault or similar high class European manufactured car was common

Renault introduced in 1928 an upgraded specification to the larger cars designated "Stella"

The London operation was very important to Renault in 1928

1929

The 8-cylinder Reinastella was introduced in 1929

1930

This proved to be a winning marketing differentiator and in the 1930s all cars changed to the Stella suffix from the previous two alpha character model identifiers

1933

Pierre Bezier - From 1933 to 1975 Bézier worked for Renault, where he would ultimately develop his UNISURF CAD CAM system

1938

Marcel Albert - He became a mechanic, building gearboxes for Renault, and was accepted for pilot training in the French Armée de l'Air in May 1938

1939

This model led on to a range culminating in the 1939 Suprastella

1940

After the French capitulation in 1940, Louis Renault refused to produce tanks for Nazi Germany, which took control of his factories

1942

On 3 March 1942, the RAF launched 235 low-level bombers at the Billancourt plant, the largest number of aircraft aimed at a single target during the war

1943

Renault resolved to rebuild the factory as quickly as possible, but a further heavy bombardment a year later, on 4 April, this time delivered by the Americans, caused further damage, as did subsequent allied bombardments on 3 and 15 September 1943

1944

He presented himself to Judge Marcel Martin, on 22 September 1944

Louis Renault was arrested on 23 September 1944, like several other French auto-industry leaders at the time

1945

On 1 January 1945, by decree of General Charles de Gaulle based on the untried accusations of collaboration, the company was expropriated from Louis Renault posthumously and on 16 January 1945 it was formally nationalised as "Régie Nationale des Usines Renault"

1946

The yellow first appeared in the diamond badge of 1946 when Renault was nationalised

1947

Lutte Ouvriere (France) - This developed factory work throughout the war and was instrumental in the Renault strike of 1947, along with the anarcho-syndicalists

Pierre Dreyfus - He combined his civil service duties with the vice-presidency of the newly nationalised Renault auto business between 1948 and 1955, and was appointed Renault CEO, following the death on February 11, 1955, in a road accident of Pierre Lefaucheux, the previous incumbent

1949

Pierre Bezier - As Director of Production Engineering in 1949, he designed the "transfer machines" that produced most of the mechanical parts for the Renault 4CV

1950

In the 1950s the Renault Dauphine won several international rallies, including the 1956 Mille Miglia and the 1958 Monte Carlo Rally

1956

Lutte Ouvriere (France) - After attempts to revive the Trotskyist Group, "'Voix Ouvrière"' was founded in 1956 by Robert Barcia, known as "Hardy" and the group's pre-eminent leader, and by , a leading activist in the Renault plant

Pierre Dreyfus - By the end of 1958, with Dreyfus less than three years into his time at the top, a million Renault 4CVs and half a million Dauphines had been sold

1959

Pierre Dreyfus - The following year, 1959, Renault ranked as the world's sixth largest auto-maker

1960

In the mid 1960s an Australian arm, Renault Australia, was set up in Heidelberg, Melbourne, the company would produce and assemble models from the R8, R10, R12, R16, sporty R15, R17 coupe's to the R18 and R20, soon the company would close in 1981

Pierre Bezier - Bézier began managing technical development at Renault in 1960

Pierre Dreyfus - During Dreyfus's twenty years in charge, Renault went on to consolidate its position as France's top selling car maker, gaining particular recognition in the 1960s for popularizing front wheel drive hatchback sedans across Europe, most notably the 4, 5 and 16 models

Renault 12 - In Brazil, a version of the 12 was sold as the Ford Corcel and later the Ford Del Rey, when Ford do Brasil acquired the factory and rights to build the car from Willys-Overland, which had jointly developed the Brazilian version with Renault in the late 1960s

Renault 10 - The 8 design looks very similar to the Alfa Romeo front-wheel drive prototype "tipo 103" , because Alfa Romeo and Renault had a business relationship in the 1950s and 1960s

1961

The 4CV proved itself a capable rival for cars such as the Morris Minor and Volkswagen Beetle; its sales of more than half a million ensured its production until 1961

1962

From 1962 to 1967, Renault assembled complete knock down kits of the Rambler Classic sedans in its factory in Belgium

1963

The inaugural Australian Wheels Car of the Year award was won by the R8 in 1963 , and Renault won again in 1970 when the Renault 12 won the prestigious award

Renault 10 - For 1963 , Renault offered a semi-automatic transmission of unique design, developed and produced by Jaeger

Renault 10 - In 1965, the Renault 10 Major, a more luxurious version of the 8 with different front and rear styling, was released, replacing the 8 Major

Renault 16 - The "' & Renault 16"' is a large family hatchback produced by French automaker Renault between 1965 and 1980 in Le Havre, France

Renault 16 - The reviewer in the May 1965 edition of the Englishb "Motoring Illustrated" said: "The Renault Sixteen can thus be described as a large family car but one that is neither a four door saloon and nor is it quite an estate

1966

The company achieved success with the more modern and more upmarket Renault 16, a pioneering hatchback launched in 1966, followed by the smaller Renault 6

Renault 16 - The Renault 16 was voted European Car of the Year by a board of European motoring journalists in 1966

Renault 16 - Initially, Renault sold the R16 with just a 1,4 L gasoline engine in "GL" specification for which was claimed; in March 1968 there appeared at the Geneva Motor Show the 1,6 L I4 "TS" which could top

Renault 18 - The Renault 18 was intended as a replacement for the Renault 12, which, having been in production since 1969, was beginning to show its age by the late 1970s, though the 12 was kept in production alongside the 18 until 1980

Renault 12 - The "' & Renault 12"' is a family car produced by French automaker Renault between 1969 and 1980

1970

The first popular Renault motor vehicles to achieve sustained sales success in the United Kingdom were the R5 mini-car and R18, both of which attained six-digit sales figures during the late 1970s and early 1980s, although they failed to achieve anything like the volumes of established carmakers Ford, Vauxhall and Austin Rover

Throughout the 1970s the R4, R5, R6, R12, R15, R16 and R17 maintained Renault's production with further new models launched including the Renault 18 and Renault 20

In North America, Renault formed a partnership with American Motors, lending AMC operating capital and buying a small percentage of the company in late 1979

1980

The second-generation Renault 5, the European Car of the Year-winning Renault 9, and the most luxurious Renault yet, the 25 were all released in the early 1980s, building Renault's reputation, but at the same time the company suffered from poor product quality which reflected badly in the image of the brand and the ill-fated Renault 14 is seen by many as the culmination of these problems in the early 1980s

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Renault's European advertising made extensive use of Robert Palmer's song "Johnny and Mary"

When the bottom fell out of the 4×4 truck market in early 1980 AMC was in danger of going bankrupt

Renault 12 - & Renault 12 production and sales ended in western Europe in 1980, but the model continued to be produced and sold by Renault affiliates elsewhere

Formula One - After having virtually disappeared by the early 1980s, factory teams made a comeback in the 1990s and 2000s and formed up to half the grid with Ferrari, Jaguar, BMW, Renault, &Toyota, and Honda either setting up their own teams or buying out existing ones

Formula One - Since 1983, Formula One had been dominated by specialist race teams like Williams, McLaren, and Benetton, using engines supplied by large car manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Renault, and Ford

1984

Formula One - Drivers from McLaren, Williams, Renault and Ferrari, dubbed the "Big Four", won every World Championship from 1984 to 2008 and the teams themselves won every Constructors' Championship from 1979 to 2008

1986

Louis Schweitzer (CEO) - He joined Renault in 1986 and became Chief Financial Officer and Head of Strategic Planning in 1988

This succeeded in halving the deficit by 1986, but he was murdered by the communist terrorist group "Action Directe" in November 1986

1987

He was replaced by Raymond Lévy, who continued along the same lines as Besse, slimming down the company considerably with the result that by the end of 1987 the company was more or less financially stable

The Renault Medallion sedan and wagon was sold from 1987 to 1989 through Jeep-Eagle dealerships

1988

Renault 19 - The "' & Renault 19"' is a small family car that was produced by the French car manufacturer Renault between 1988 and 1996

1989

From 1989 Renault supplied engines to the successful Williams-Renault car

However, Renault products were no longer imported into the United States after 1989

A revitalised Renault launched several successful new cars in the early 1990s, including the successful 5 replacement, the Clio in 1990

It was regularly among Britain's most popular cars each year during the 1990s and its successor , where the original model left off

The earlier television advertisements used Palmer's original version, while a range of special recordings in different styles were produced during the 1990s; most famously Martin Taylor's acoustic interpretation which he released on his album Spirit of Django

Renault 16 - Retired Renault styling chief Patrick le Quément made no secret of his admiration for the R16 and incorporated a subtle tribute to its "bird-beak" grille in the corporate look he devised for models such as the Laguna, Mégane and Scénic that the company launched in the 1990s

1991

Renault enjoyed a huge rise in popularity among British buyers on the arrival of the Clio supermini in early 1991

Carl Hahn - This shift in American tastes caused Fiat and Renault to quit the United States and Canada during the decade, and the ill-fated Yugo brand followed suit in 1991, making Volkswagen the last European car brand selling mass-market products in those two countries

1992

Louis Schweitzer was Chairman and CEO from 1992 to 2005, in succession to Raymond Lévy

Other important launched included the second-generation Espace and the innovative Twingo in 1992

The current diamond badge has been in use since 1992, though the Renault brand logo was updated in 2007 when a square of yellow and the word Renault was added to form a new logo for print and web use

Yvan Muller - After competing in French Formula Renault and French Formula Three, he won the British Formula Two championship title in 1992 and competed in the FIA Formula 3000 Championship in 1993

Louis Schweitzer (CEO) - He was Renault's Chairman and CEO from May 1992 to April 2005, and president of the Renault-Nissan Alliance Board from 2001 to 2005

1993

Tim Harvey - He had a difficult 1993 season developing the Renault 19 for the new Renault entry but still managed to win the European Grand Prix support race in lurid conditions, while he was outpaced by team-mate Alain Menu in 1994 in the new Laguna

Alain Menu - In 1993 Menu began a six-year association with Renault in the BTCC, who had just entered the series with the GB Motorsport run Renault 19

1995

In 1995, Design and Quality were merged under le Quément direction

Alain Menu - The running of the Renault team was taken over by WilliamsF1 for the 1995 season and Menu was joined by former Toyota driver Will Hoy

1996

It was eventually decided that the company's state-owned status was detrimental to its growth, and Renault was privatized in 1996

Ford of Europe - Ford entered the city car market in 1996 with its oddly-named and oddly-styled Ka, and was beaten into second place in the 1997 European Car of the Year award by the Renault Scenic

1997

In 1997, the French branches were merged to establish the subsidiary Renault France Automobiles

Alain Menu - He continued with Renault in 1997 and was joined by Renault Spider champion Jason Plato

1998

Taylor recorded many alternate versions for Renault; the last being in 1998 for the launch of the all-new Renault Clio

Rob Austin - His career started in British Formula Renault in 1998, where he raced until 1999

Irisbus - "'Irisbus"' is a bus manufacturer which was formed through the merger of the bus and coach divisions of Fiat Industrial, Iveco and Renault in January 1999 and Ikarus Bus in late 1999

2000

Renault took over the Benetton Formula team in 2000 for the 2001 season and became Renault F1 in 2002

Renault went from strength to strength in the UK during the 2000s following the introduction of its distinctively styled Mégane hatchback in November 2002

The second generation of the Laguna and Mégane featured ambitious, angular designs which turned out to be successful, with the 2000 Laguna being the first European family car to feature "keyless" entry and ignition

Rob Collard - He only raced a partial season in the renamed Production Class in 2001, concentrating on preparing a Renault Clio for a full assault on the Production Class in 2002 with his own Collard Racing team

Volvo - On 2 January 2001, "Renault Véhicules Industriels" was sold to Volvo, which renamed it Renault Trucks in 2002

2002

Jenson Button - Despite Button's performances, and his desire to stay with Renault, it was announced at the French Grand Prix that he would make way in 2003 for test driver Fernando Alonso

Avtoframos - From the end of 2002 to 2004 the plant produced the & Renault Symbol, the three-box version of the Renault Clio

2003

Jenson Button - The following year he switched to Benetton, which in became Renault, and for the 2003 season he moved to BAR

In 2004, French typeface designer Jean-François Porchez was commissioned to design a replacement

Renault SA ceased manufacturing large goods vehicles by 2004 when it sold its truck and military divisions to Volvo in 2001 and its bus and tram business to Irisbus in 1999

Renault's agricultural division was sold to CLAAS in 2004

The Laguna was the first Renault to achieve a 5 star rating; in 2004 the Modus was the first to achieve this rating in its category

2005

Any suggestions that its quirky styling would not fit in with the tastes of British buyers were quickly confounded in 2005 when it was the fourth best selling car in Britain

In 2005 and 2006 the team won the Constructors' and Drivers' titles

Renault India Private Limited is the Indian subsidiary of Renault established in 2005

Renault was in talks with VAZ on and off since 2005, initially insisting on CKD assembly of Logan cars with its facilities, while VAZ intended to keep its own Lada brand and only wished to acquire a new platform and engine

On 30 June 2006, the media reported that General Motors convened an emergency board meeting to discuss a proposal by shareholder Kirk Kerkorian to form an alliance between GM and Renault-Nissan

This did not sit well with Renault; subsequently, talks between GM and Renault ended on 4 October 2006

2007

In 2007 Renault-Nissan were in talks with Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto to develop a new ultra-low-cost car along the lines of the Tata Nano

Renault introduced a new line of eco-friendly derivatives in 2007 marked eco² based on normal production cars

Formula One - Drivers are not required to have competed at this level before entering Formula One. British F3 has supplied many F1 drivers, with champions including Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna and Mika Häkkinen having moved straight from that series to Formula One. More rarely a driver may be picked from an even lower level, as was the case with 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen, who went straight from Formula Renault to F1

Karl Reindler - He joined the ranks of the Asian Formula Renault V6 series in 2007, but only ran one meeting

At the 2008 Fleet World Honours, Renault was rewarded with the Environment Award

In 2008 Renault-Nissan signed a deal to mass-produce electric cars for an initiative in Israel with Better Place, a US company developing new non-petroleum based transport infrastructure

In 2008, the company adopted its current name

Renault revealed the Ondelios hybrid concept in 2008

Since 2008 Renault displayed various all-electric car concepts under the name "Z.E.", starting with a concept based on the Renault Kangoo Be Bop. Further concepts and announcements followed, with a pledge to start production of the Fluence Z.E. saloon in 2011 and the Renault Zoe in 2012

Shai Agassi - In January 2008, the Israeli government announced its support for a broad effort to promote the use of electric cars, embracing a joint venture between Better Place, Renault and its partner, Nissan Motor Company

Renault do Brasil - In April 2008, Renault opened in São_Paulo (São_Paulo,_Brazil) its first design center in the American continent

On 7 October 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported that a Renault executive said the company was interested in acquiring or partnering with Chrysler, which at the time was owned by the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management

On 11 October 2008, the New York Times reported that General Motors, Nissan and Renault had all been in discussions over the past month with Cerberus about acquiring Chrysler

2009

At the end of 2009, le Quément was replaced by Laurens van den Acker, which introduced the "cycle of life" concept to Renault's design

Avtoframos - In 2009, the plant started producing the & Renault Sandero hatchback, which will be joined by the Renault Duster in 2011

Elf Aquitaine - This changed in 2009, when the Renault &Formula_One cars replaced the Elf logos with Total logos

As of March 2009, 20 million visitors have visited L'Atelier Renault

2010

Automotive industry in France - Total worldwide motor vehicle production by Renault in 2010 was 2,716,286, of which 2,395,876 were passenger vehicles

In February 2010, Renault opened a new production factory in Tangier, Morocco, with an annual output capacity of 170,000 vehicles

Renault India Private Limited - In February 2010, Mahindra and Renault announced the dissolution of their joint-venture, with Mahindra buying out Renault's shares

RCI Banque - On 24 March 2010, RCI Banque's Diac and Renault F1 signed a sponsorship agreement which lasted from the Australian to the Monaco Grand Prix of that year

In April 2010, Renault-Nissan announced a new alliance with Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler with Renault supplying Mercedes-Benz with its brand new 1,6 L turbodiesel engine and Mercedes-Benz to provide a 2,0 L four-cylinder petrol engine to Renault-Nissan

On 7 April 2010 Renault-Nissan executive, Carlos Ghosn and Daimler AG executive, Dieter Zetsche announced a partnership between the three companies in a joint press conference

The Koleos SUV was withdrawn from the UK in August 2010 due to slow sales under 3,000 units

Renault powered the winning 2010 Red Bull Racing team, and entered to a similar role with its old team in December 2010, when sold the final participation on it to the investment group Genii Capital, the main stakeholder since December 2009, ending Renault's direct role in running a F1 team for the second time

2011

However, in 2011 Renault's fortunes fell again

In late 2011, Renault announced that the Laguna, Espace, Kangoo, Modus, and Wind lines would be withdrawn from the UK due to cutting costs and 55 of its 190 British dealerships would be closed

Originally Renault's presence in India was as a result of the joint venture Mahindra Renault which manufactured the Dacia Logan until 2011, when it was facelifted and re-launched as the Mahindra Verito

Renault collaborated with Better Place to produce a network of all-electric vehicles and thousands of charging stations in Denmark, planned to be operational by 2011

Clare Maguire - A remix of the song was used in Renault's 2011 Clio commercial entitled "What is Va Va Voom-"

Fiat - In 2011, Fiat was the fourth largest European automaker by production behind Volkswagen Group, PSA, and Renault and the eleventh largest automaker by production in the world

Renault do Brasil - In 2011, the Brazilian growth of Renault was seven times bigger than the market average, with 194,300 cars sold and a market share of 5,7 percent

Formula One - Williams later rejoined with Renault in 2012, rekindling a partnership that dates back to the early to mid-1990s

Renault do Brasil - On 2 August 2012, Renault announced its plans to expand Mecanica Mercosul's production output a 25 percent by 2013

In December 2012 the Algeria's National Investment Fund , the &Société_Nationale_de_Véhicules_Industriels , and Renault signed an agreement to establish a factory near the city of Oran, Algeria, with the aim of manufacturing Symbol units by 2014

2013

Renault Samsung Motors - In March 2013, Renault &Samsung Motors completed the installation of solar panels in the parking lots, rooftops and surrounding land of its Busan facility to create a 20-MW solar plant, one of the largest in the world

In September 2013, Renault and Bolloré announced an agreement to collaborate in a new electric vehicle and in car-sharing development

2014

In 2014 at the New Delhi Auto Show, Renault announced a new model, the KWID Concept, which comes with its own helicopter drone

The company unveiled a prototype, the Next Two , in February 2014

However, Renault presented a new hybrid car in September 2014, the Eolab, which incorporates various innovations that the company said will be added to production models by 2020

2015

In April 2015, the French government upped their stake in Renault to 19,73 percent with the aim of blocking a resolution at the next annual general meeting that could reduce its control over the company

2016

In 2016 Renault will reenter the sport sponsoring a factory team

The milestone was achieved in August 2016

2017

However, on Friday, 13 January 2017, Renault shares fell as the Paris prosecutor started an investigation into possible exhaust emissions cheating

On 12 May 2017, one of the Renault manufacturing plants' computer networks was attacked by a malware known as WannaCry which was found to be something critical, causing it being shut down for one day

2018

In November 2018, Renault's CEO Ghosn was arrested by Japanese officials for allegedly underreport his Nissan's salary, following an internal review conducted by the Japanese company

In December 2018, Renault announced it would acquire a "significant" stake in Jiangling Motors' electric vehicle subsidiary JMEV.